1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to satellite dish antenna mounts, and more particularly to a conveniently transported mount assembly useful to combine into a dish antenna mount that may be generally fixed at various selected orientations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The transmission of television and other similar signals has gone through several evolutions, first in the form of broadband radio signal then followed by various land lines or cable networks. In each instance either the physical burden of various in-ground or overhead cables or the width of the useable electromagnetic spectrum have limited the number of available programming sources. The granulation of available programming bandwidths, however, has recently gone through a dramatic evolutionary step with the recent advent of transmission techniques relying on geosynchronous satellites each serving as the signal emitting source for a particular program grouping, this evolution then being further reinforced by legislation like the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
In this latter method the satellites associated with each particular signal group are distributed equatorially above the Earth, with a singular line of sight set of coordinates then ascribed to each geographic location. These alignment coordinates are then used for orienting the sensing axes of highly polarized antennae generally known as a satellite dish. The fixed nature of the viewing coordinates has led to a generally universal, more or less permanent, installation process with the fixed satellite dish mounting structure positioned adjacent the residence that is serviced thereby and the installation process then providing the customer garnering mechanism for a particular program source.
In typical practice the coordinates for each antenna location are expressed as a corrected magnetic North azimuth and degrees of elevation from the local horizontal plane. As a consequence installation facility has become generally widespread and along with the wide acceptance of satellite programming by fixed residences there has also now emerged a robust trend to implement movable structures like recreational vehicles or motor homes with deployable antenna mounts. These deployable mounts most often follow the earlier practices of satellite based surveying or measuring antennae typically supported on an adjustable tripod, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,090 issued to Hartman, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,766 issued to Vogt; U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,918 issued to Dinardo, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,370 issued to Ashjace; U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,464 issued to Thomas; and others. Similar tripod mounted structures are also commercially sold, as for example the tripod mount sold under the model designation TR-2000 Tripod/Base Mount by the Winegard Company, 3000 Kirkwood Street, Burlington, Iowa 52601-2000. While suitable for the purposes intended each of the foregoing entail complex assortments of parts which include metal structures that distort or wholly obliterate any magnetic compass reading, while those made wholly of plastic like the antenna mount sold under the mark or model xe2x80x9cThe Buoyxe2x80x9d by Camping World, Three Springs Road, P.O. Box 90017, Bowling Green, Ky. 42102-9017, lack the leveling indicia for alignment precision. Thus either the resulting measurement and erection complexity or lack of precision have unnecessarily detracted from the use convenience and proliferation of the deployable mount has been less than ringing in the recent past. A conveniently assembled, non-metallic mount structure is therefore extensively desired and it is one such structure that is disclosed herein.
Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to provide an erectable antenna mount assembly all the parts thereof being formed from non-magnetic materials.
Other objects of the present invention are to provide a conveniently erected antenna mount assembly supported on a base container that is selectively ballasted by storing water therein.
Further objects of the invention are to provide an array of cooperating parts that are conveniently interlocked and thereafter aligned to support an antenna dish.
Yet additional objects of the invention are to provide an interlocking array of parts that is easily assembled to form a satellite dish antenna mount provided with structural interlocks that are engaged without substantial ambiguity.
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by providing a generally hollow base formed as an annular liquid container having the central opening therein keyed and dimensioned for conforming orthogonal receipt of a similarly keyed end of a cylindrical mount. The other end of the mount is then provided with a selectively releasable universal swivel fixed by threaded advancement of the bottom end of a support post extending therefrom. The support post, in turn, terminates at the other end in a dished cavity into which a leveling bubble assembly is placed which is then useful to align the support post on the cylindrical mount to a generally vertical alignment regardless of the inclination of the hollow base. Once aligned the base is then filled with water to provide ballast fixing the base on the ground.
Preferably the hollow base, the cylindrical mount and the support post are all formed of a polymeric material structure, such as polyvinyl chloride or other generally rigid polymer structure having material properties that allow the machining and cutting thereof. Similarly, the pivoting mechanism fixing the support post alignment relative the cylindrical mount also comprises non-magnetic components, the non-ferrous assembly therefore allowing use of an inexpensive magnetic compass to assist in the orientation of the base along a predetermined azimuth. In this manner the induced magnetic distortion errors that are usually associated with unwanted distortions of the local magnetic field are wholly avoided. This cooperative structural arrangement is further simplified by way of a threaded extension of the mounting post into a domed ball surface captured between a cap on the end of the cylindrical mount by a helical spring and a dished surface within the cylinder opposing the threaded extension or the post so that a partial turn thereof then provides the frictional interlock to fix its generally vertical alignment as determined by the bubble level seated in the free end of the post. A satellite dish antenna, conventionally provided with elevation adjustment, can then be fixed to the mounting post along the azimuth referenced to the compass.
One will appreciate that the planform of the base container and its several surfaces may be variously shaped for clear visual indication of the azimuth alignment thereof. Moreover various storage provisions may be formed in the surfaces of the container that retain the compass and the component array of the cylindrical support assembly. In this manner a convenient, easily transported and easily aligned antenna mount assembly is provided that is useful at all geographic locations.